1. Forestry and Fishing
Although about one-quarter of Africa is covered by forest, much of the timber has
little value except as local fuel. Gabon is a major producer of Okoume, a wood used in
making plywood; Coted’Ivoire, Liberia (before the civil war), Ghana, and Nigeria are
major exporter of hardwoods. Inland fishing is concentrated in the Rift valley lakes and
in the increasing numbers of fish farms. Ocean fishing is widespread for local
consumption; it is commercially important off Morocco, Mauritania, Namibia,
Mozambique, and South Africa.
2. Mining
Mineral extraction provides the bulk of African export earnings, and extractive
industries are among the most developed sectors in most African economies. Almost half
of Africa’s mineral income comes from South Africa, mainly derived from gold and
diamond mining but also from chromium, asbestos, coal, and copper. Other leading
mineral-producing countries include Libya (oil), Nigeria (oil, natural gas, coal, tin),
Namibia (diamonds, uranium), Algeria (oil, natural gas, iron ore), and Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (copper, cobalt, lead, zinc), Zimbabwe (gold, asbestos, coal, chromium, iron ore, and nickel), and Ghana (gold, bauxite, and diamonds).
Oil is also found along the western African coast, in the Gabon basin, the Republic of the
Congo, and Angola.
A significant proportion of uranium mined world-wide comes from Africa,
chiefly in south Africa, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the central African
Republic, and Gabon. Some 20 per cent of the world’s copper reserves is concentrated in
Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, south Africa, and Zimbabwe. The
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia also possess about 90 per cent of the
world’s known cobalt, and Sierra Leone has the largest known titanium reserves. Africa
produces some three quarters of the world’s gold; South Africa, followed by Zimbabwe,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ghana, are the major producers. The mines
of Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
produce the majority of the world’s gem and industrial diamonds. Iron ore is found in all
parts of the continent. Most of Africa’s mineral wealth has been and is being developed
by large, multinational corporations (MNCS). Increasingly, in recent years, African
governments have become substantial shareholders in the operations within their own
countries.
Titany answered the question on January 18, 2022 at 05:29